


Leaders' Influence

by abeyance



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, spec fic, speculation fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-28 23:16:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10841508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abeyance/pseuds/abeyance
Summary: Clarke and Bellamy attempt to talk each other out of hurting themselves. confessions that had been long-awaited are brought to light. Figuratively or literally, take those statements as you will.Spec. fic based on the 4x11 promo.





	Leaders' Influence

_ In, out. _

 

That's how a body gets oxygen. By breathing. 

 

But Clarke couldn't breathe. She gasped, but despite the bunker’s stuffy air, it was too thin to be any help as she ran.

 

As she ran to the biggest battle she had ever faced from the second they landed on the blast sphere of an earth.

 

Running to save her people.

 

Save  _ Bellamy. _

 

No, stop him. Stop him from being selfish by getting his sister, by opening that door to a stampede of angry people with a broken promise.

 

So even though her calves burned, as her left thigh was certainly bruising from the heavy holster bumping against her thigh, she ran, she ran, she ran. Something kept her going, a tiny boost of fire under her heels that gave her gaits a little hop.

 

_ In, out. _

 

Clarke saw a shadow turn over the corner, the wrong one. And so she breathlessly ran around the other, certain how they would circle around each other and, if she was fast enough, catch him before he would make the stairwell leading to the door that would cause mankind's extinction if opened.

.

She wasn't fast enough.

 

Well, only by a little bit.

 

Bellamy was circling around the railing of the steps when she saw him.

 

“Bellamy _ ,”  _  he looked at her, as she now stopped, putting a reasonable distance between them.

 

“What, Clarke? Am I affecting how your ‘ _ Kidnap Bellamy Plan _ ’ is supposed t o work? I apologize for the inconvenience.” he started up the stairs, but didn't make it farther than the second step. 

 

“Stop!” she was surprised when he obeyed but got over it quickly. “You know you can't open that door, Bell.”

  
  


“And what?  Just leave Octavia out there to  _ die _ ?”

 

“You heard Jaha, Bellamy. If you go out there, you won't even make it to see her.”

 

“And the only…. _ reason that is _ is your lack of faith in her!”

 

“I was being cautious. No matter what, fighting would occur. No matter who won.” 

 

“And so your idea was to just  _ cheat _ ? To go against an oath?”

 

“My idea was to  _ save mankind!” _

 

“We were doing that already, Clarke!”

 

“ _ By killing each other,” _

 

“Yea, and because of you, for nothing! And don't give me crap about saying that they would be dead in days anyway because you know most of them wouldn't be.”

 

“And we are all going to be dead if you do this!”

 

“Do what? Save the only person who deserves to be in here, the one who _won?_ If I don't, the life we would live in here would be based on honor that we betrayed.” a beat. “ I'm going. If Octavia doesn't live after she had done for us, we don't deserve to either.”

 

Her heart skipped as he headed farther up the stairs, closer to the door, as she realized he was right. There was nothing she could say to stop him.

 

“Don't move.” The only thing that told her she said those words was the dry, full gulp that followed. The holster was not weighted. She looked in front of her, where the weight laid in her palm. Where the gun pointed at Bellamy.

 

His eyes widened and her lungs shrank, and she tried to not have her gasps be as visible as they felt.

 

“What are you doing…” his voice was raspy. Like the screaming did such a number on his throat that it was scratchy. She gulped. The muscles in her face ran wild, the confusion and nervousness and uncertainty changing back and forth, like her emotion couldn't make up its mind.

 

“What I have to,” She failed at her voice staying steady, the last word wavering. “Protecting my people. Like  _ always. _ ”

 

His expression was the same wide- eyed countenance for another second before his labeled, smug leader face melted from under it.

 

“Let's see how far you'll go, then.” her gaze couldn't focus on if it wanted to look at him or the gun. At least that's what she convinced herself to think. “Shoot me.”

 

“Bellamy,” she shifted her weight to each foot.

 

“No, Clarke. Let's see what kind of leader you are. How many people you are willing to kill to protect your own.”

 

“You  _ are  _ my people.”

 

“One life for all, right?” she bit her lip to keep from telling him the truth. The truth that she didn't even comprehend or know herself.

 

One, two, three.

 

Three seconds, Of them standing there. Bellamy's eyes boring into her. Her own going from the gun to Bellamy, her courage trying to build itself up enough for that one little squeeze of a trigger. That's it. Then her people would be safe.

 

But they wouldn't.

 

Without him, her heartless decisions ran into despair. He was her co-leader, her ally. Her frie -

 

“”You can't do it.” Her eyes snapped to his. She didn't know where they were before. “You can't shoot me. Why can't you, Clarke? If you need to kill one person to protect your people, why can't you shoot me?”

 

“B-because,” she stammered.

 

“Because why? How am I different from anyone else. I guarantee if anyone had been here right now, they would already be in the medical ward. So why am I not?”

 

“I- I can't, Bellamy.”

 

“You can't  _ what. _ ”

 

“I can't lose you, alright?” his eyes softened like that wasn't an obvious answer. “I care about you too much.”

 

“So what is holding me at gunpoint going to do?” his voice was sharp. So much she couldn't believe his eyes and voice were from the same body.

 

“I- I don’t know.” her mind flashed back to Polis, where Lexa threatened her if she left. it worked on her then. Why not now?       

 

“Because if you care about me so much as you say, all would have to do is tell me.“ he chuckled a little. Absurd. ”Threatening is not a good way to go at it.”

 

“You wouldn't stay.” Clarke’s arms hurt. She couldn’t feel them.

 

Bellamy took one step down. “It would give me a reason to.”

 

“But not a  _ good one.” _

 

“And who says that?” She didn't answer. She couldn't. “All your allied leaders?” He was on the ground now. Bellamy took a step toward her. “Mentors?”

 

“Mentors?”

 

“Who I see right now is not the Clarke that led The One-Hundred however long ago that was. And, even though we've all changed so much since then, I know you still can lead with your heart and mind. You disobey rules. I've seen it.” he shrugged like it was something that was common knowledge. But it was something she never even realized. “And what I'm seeing right now?” Bellamy gestured his hand to her. He shook his head.  “This isn't Clarke. This is Wanheda, a person the clans have made you out to be. Who rules by what others told her to do, not what she thinks is right.” he glanced to his left, and she was able to see his eyes glistening. “But on the other side of all that ruthlessness those people have turned half of your mind into, right beneath your skin, is Clarke. The Clarke that somehow learned to govern on her own, without help from anyone. The Clarke that is stopping  that trigger from being pulled because she knows anyone has a choice, and if they want to risk their lives they can.”

 

She looked at Bellamy, who was somehow in front of her, the gun inches from his chest. Clarke readjusted her footing. Her eyes connected with his. They stayed there.

 

“That's why you can't shoot me, Clarke. Because you know what you were taught is in your mind, not heart. Nothing like a real leader’s knowledge should be.” his lips pressed together. “So I'll give you a choice. Let your mind take over and shoot me, or allow your heart to rule and let me go.”

Her silence was an answer. Her expression probably was, too.

 

Suddenly, Clarke's arm stopped trembling. She looked down at it to find Bellamy's hand on hers. He took the gun slowly from her grip. Her holster became heavy again.

 

“That wasn't my choice.” 

 

“I know you well enough by now.” he had a small smile on his face. She returned the slightest before looking at the stairwell.

 

“There's murderous people out there.”

 

“Then you better get that gun back out,” Bellamy noted. She returned her gaze back to him, where her best bet was probably that he was looking at her the whole time.

 

“If you go out alone, you die, Bellamy.” she was pleading at that point. The vibrations of the screams were almost felt under her feet.

 

“I know. That's why I'm telling you this now. “ Clarke shook her head, not understanding. “The last time our future was uncertain, I wanted to tell you something.”

 

“Why didn’t you?”

 

“You aren't really great when it comes to listening to confessions without interrupting, let's just say,” he chuckled. “But yeah, before I got interrupted, I was working up the courage to tell you how much I care about you, too.” Clarke’s muscles relaxed, even the ones held by his hand. They were not in the safe distance as before. “So much that I think I'm realizing how much I'm falling in love with you.” her mouth gaped a small bit. He eyes darted to look at each of his, trying to figure out how to look at both at the same time. She couldn't.

 

“Then let's go.”

 

“What?”

 

“Well, I can't certain your death before knowing for sure. Let's go get Octavia. Together.” his face broke into a smile. 

 

And so they went.

 

_ (He clarified himself not one minute in that he was, no doubt, deeply falling in love with Clarke Griffin.) _

**Author's Note:**

> the more I proofread this, the more I realized how high I set expectations. So, so sorry about that. but I hope you enjoyed this while we all are still able to.
> 
> [comments and kudos very much appreciated]


End file.
